Some people build careers around one profession. Mine has been built across continents, cultures, industries, successes, failures, and reinventions.
Having lived across multiple countries and worked in engineering, entrepreneurship, hospitality, and the creative industries, I became fascinated by one question:
Why do people looking at the same life reach completely different conclusions?
That question became the foundation of everything I do.
Whether I am writing, speaking, hosting retreats, or welcoming guests to casaJOMO, my work explores identity, belonging, purpose, reinvention, and the stories we inherit about what a meaningful life should look like.
The Journey That Led Here
Life rarely followed the map I imagined.
Each unexpected turn became an invitation to question assumptions—about success, home, resilience, freedom, and even identity itself.
Over time I realized that some of the most important transformations don't come from having the right answers. They come from asking better questions.
That realization inspired both Maps & Mirrors, my conversation retreat series, and my forthcoming memoir, A BEAUTIFUL LIFE, MISUNDERSTOOD.
Speaking & Conversations
I believe some of life's most meaningful conversations happen outside the conference room.
Whether speaking to organizations, universities, book clubs, retreat groups, or intimate gatherings, I invite audiences to explore questions that rarely have simple answers:
What shapes our identity?
What does belonging really mean?
How do assumptions influence our relationships?
What happens when life doesn't follow the map we planned?
How do we find meaning after reinvention?
My talks combine personal stories, thoughtful reflection, and interactive conversation designed to leave audiences thinking long after the event has ended.
Whether you join me for a retreat, a speaking engagement, or a stay at casaJOMO, my goal is the same:
To create a space where people feel comfortable slowing down, thinking deeply, and connecting authentically—with themselves and with others.
Guests often leave with something difficult to describe but easy to recognize:
Greater clarity.
New perspectives.
Better questions.
And a renewed appreciation for the many ways a meaningful life can unfold.
A Little More About Dacia
Known as Day to family and friends, Dacia has traveled to more than 40 countries and 190 cities, experiences that continue to shape her curiosity about people, cultures, and the many ways we define home. She now welcomes guests from around the world as the host of a boutique hotel in Rio de Janeiro, where meaningful conversations often begin around a shared table.
An engineer by training with a lifelong appreciation for art, history, architecture, fashion, design, and music, she enjoys bringing together analytical thinking and creative exploration. Her multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural backgrounds and globally mobile life continue to inspire both her writing and her retreats.
Current Projects
Dacia is the author of A BEAUTIFUL LIFE, MISUNDERSTOOD (forthcoming), a literary memoir exploring identity, belonging, reinvention, and the gap between the stories people tell and the lives we actually live.
She is also the creator of Maps & Mirrors, a conversation retreat series exploring identity, belonging, purpose, and meaningful human connection through guided discussions and reflection.
She is also developing Guess the Intentions, an interactive conversation game exploring assumptions, motivations, and perspective through real-world social scenarios.
In addition, she has completed Permission Withdrawn, a one-hour serialized television drama exploring motherhood, institutional power, and survival across legal systems.
An Invitation
Whether you join me for a retreat, invite me to speak, or simply follow my work, I hope our paths cross through a conversation that leaves us both asking better questions.
Because sometimes the most meaningful journeys don’t begin with finding answers—they begin by seeing our lives, and one another, from a different perspective.